The Harbinger
by Admiral Valerian
Summary: Kariya Matou summons a different Servant during the Fourth Holy Grail War, a Servant whose hands run red with the blood of billions. What crimes did this Servant commit, what price was paid for such a blood-stained soul to ascend to the Throne of Heroes? And what will she bring to the Heaven's Feel?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed, and this work is merely a creative and absolutely non-commercial exercise on my part.

The Harbinger

Chapter 1

"What's up? So you're my new employer?" the newly-summoned Assassin asked, raising a hand in greeting. "I'm the Servant Assassin at your service. Sorry but I can't tell you my true identity right now, as it seems my memory is blurred or distorted by something. Did something go wrong in the summoning ritual?"

"Assassin…?" Zouken sneered before turning to Kariya. "You fool. Not only did you refuse my offered catalyst in favour of a Servant that would resemble you, you decided to avoid summoning a Berserker."

"Hey now…" Assassin protested all the while lighting a cigarette and taking a pull before blowing out a stream of smoke. "…don't be so quick to dismiss me out of hand. True, as an Assassin I am all but useless against other Servants, but I assure you I am more than capable of doing what an Assassin-class is supposed to do anyway: eliminate the opposition's leaders."

Zouken merely snorted disdainfully in response. "She's not even one of the incarnations of Hassan-i Sabbah at that." He continued his rant against Kariya, who merely glared at the old man in response.

"You're starting to annoy me old man." Assassin snarled, one hand reaching into her coat. "You won't like it when I get angry."

Zouken sneered but made to walk away nonetheless. He was many things, but he was no fool. Very few Humans were capable of fighting a Heroic Spirit, and he was not one of them, even if the enemy happened to be among the weaker classes of Servants. "Get out of my house." Zouken spat. "I would offer you the hospitality of this place but after pushing me to the limits of my patience I have no further desire to see your face until you bring to me the Holy Grail. Feel free to visit though, I'm sure Sakura would appreciate the moral support."

"I have no intention of staying here any moment longer than necessary." Kariya hissed as the ancient magus left.

"So what now boss?" Assassin asked, offering her Master a smoke. "…want one? It's a bit strong though, Russian tobacco and all that."

"No thanks. I doubt if my body can handle any further strain." He declined but nevertheless gave the woman a weak smile to show his appreciation for her friendly offer. "Anyway just follow my lead for now."

* * *

"Is this really necessary?" Assassin asked with concern evident in her voice. "Staying out in the open like this is very detrimental to your health. As you said, it's not like your body can handle much more."

"I've no choice." Kariya sighed as he sank down to the ground in an out-of-the way alley. "I don't have access to the Matou fortune, and even if I did I'd rather not use it. It'd just give the old worm more to use against me in the future."

"You don't seem to have an excellent relationship with that old man." Assassin dryly observed, and Kariya actually laughed at that.

"That would be an understatement." Kariya said.

"So…" Assassin asked, leaning against the opposite wall. "…who's this Sakura? Is she your daughter or something?"

"I suppose you could say that." Kariya said sadly. "She isn't related to me by blood, and technically she's my niece, but I see her as my daughter nonetheless."

"Why?"

"She's the daughter of the woman I loved, and I still do, even after she married another man." Kariya replied, his eyes focused on what might have been. "And after being thrown away by her parents, it's not like I can just look away can I?"

"What do you mean she was thrown away by her parents?" Assassin said angrily. "What kind of parent does that?"

"Tokiomi Tohsaka…" Kariya spat, his face contorted with anger and hatred. "…a man who prizes being a magus above being a father. He only needed one heiress, so he taught the elder and gave away the younger as though they were nothing more than cattle. I sincerely hope that little Rin doesn't grow up like her father. I also hope that Aoi regrets going along with her husband's insanity. If not, then God have mercy on them in the end."

"Sakura…she's undergoing something like you do, isn't she?" Assassin asked quietly, and Kariya nodded grimly.

"It's worse in her case. In my case my familiars will just drive me to a painful death, but in her case they'll infest her body. For now they're just familiarizing themselves with her. When she gets older, she'll become a nest for them…at best. At worst, they'll eat her alive."

"Vile…" Assassin hissed, her fists clenched in anger.

"I know." Kariya echoed. "Magic is painful, but the Matou magic is absolute evil. It works by 'engraving' the mechanics of our Thaumaturgy onto the soul, but this process is akin to torture, involving familiars literally infesting our bodies. And while they can eat their way into you…they usually prefer to use pre-existing orifices.

"Enough…" Assassin growled. "…I know enough to surmise that you don't simply want to win the Holy Grail for yourself. You want to use it to barter for the girl's freedom, don't you?"

"Yes…" Kariya agreed, giving a nod. "…the deal was that I win the Holy Grail, and then I and Sakura go free."

"I doubt that." Assassin said darkly. "That old man will probably double-cross you in the end. And that's assuming we survive this war."

"I know…" Kariya echoed. "…but it's not like we have a choice, do I?"

"No…" Assassin said, and then to Kariya's surprise she smiled. "…for now. But if that's the case, then I'll just have to setup an opportunity to win, don't I?"

"What's your plan?" Kariya asked.

"Get up." Assassin told him. "There's no point in anything if my boss dies out on me, so we need to get someplace more comfortable. As for my plan, well I'm working on it. Rome wasn't built in a day you know."

Despite himself Kariya chuckled as he stood and made to follow his Servant. He liked his Servant a lot, especially her informal and friendly nature. "Don't forget we can't afford anything much." He reminded her, and to his surprise she just shrugged.

"Don't worry about that." She said over a shoulder as they walked down the nearly-empty street towards a taxi station. "Allow me to introduce my Noble Phantasm: Tools of the Trade. Be it weapons, equipment, food, or just about anything I need to get a job done I can get it with the appropriate prana cost. There are limits of course, but I can work my way around them."

"I suppose one of those tools is money?"

"Naturally…" she said, before briefly flashing a platinum card at a surprised Kariya.

* * *

"Now then, let's check your body out." Assassin said after Kariya had stretched out – with no small amount of relief – on his bed. Assassin had chosen one of the better – but not the best – hotels as their base of operations, and had indefinitely leased a spacious two bedroom suite. And now, much to her Master's surprise she began muttering a diagnostic spell while waving a hand over his body.

"You're a magus!" he said in shock, and the Servant shrugged in reply.

"No I'm not. I'm a spell-caster and a free-lancer, and rather average at magecraft too. I don't even have a crest, and all my spells are meant for combat support and the like."

Assassin narrowed her eyes at what she found. "Ah, so your familiars provide you with prana by functioning as artificial magic circuits, although the cost is they cause internal injuries as they do so. Furthermore, the longer they remain in your body, the greater the damage you receive. This is bad boss, even with my minimal prana requirements I'll give you ten years. Fifteen if you don't push yourself."

"That's fine…" Kariya groaned. "…so long as I can get Sakura out of there!"

"Alright then…" Assassin said with a nod. "…I'll see to it that your wish is granted. After all, what is a hero if she cannot bear the weight of the world on her shoulders? Compared to that, how difficult would rescuing a little girl be?"

"Don't underestimate Zouken!" Kariya hissed, trying to sit up. "He'll kill you if you're not careful!"

"Don't worry I'm not just going to rush in without a plan." Assassin reassured him. "Just rest easy for now."

Somewhat mollified, Kariya settled down and in a few minutes had fallen into a troubled sleep. Assassin however, immediately shifted into her astral form and made her way back to the Matou Estate. She had no intention of attacking, although she suspected that at some point in the future Kariya would give her leave to do so once the realization of his failing body sank in.

As such, she spent much of the night inspecting the bounded fields protecting the estate, mentally noting down the locations of its foci and the exact parameters of the area defining the field. Afterwards she slipped through them, making use of her class ability presence concealment to avoid detection. She explored the manor, and as with the bounded fields pinpointed structural weaknesses and studied the layout for a future assault. He also found another man in the house passed out drunk in an unkempt room, and a young boy peacefully asleep in another room. Both of them had disturbingly familiar plum-coloured hair.

Finally, she made her way down to the basement where she had been summoned. She watched, invisible and intangible with mounting disgust as the old man stared down into a pit where countless worms and insects writhed against each other, and most likely around and inside a very young girl.

By chance, by the time she had finished studying the grounds and the manor Sakura had almost finished her 'training'. As the girl crawled out of the pit and numbly put on her clothes, Assassin recoiled in horror. The girl's hair and eyes were an all-too familiar shade of violet, sending flashes of memory through the Servant. Memories of sleeping with her head in the lap of a beautiful but sickly woman with long hair of that exact shade of violet, memories of older but identical in every other sense eyes looking at her warmly, of gentle fingers running through her hair while a melodious voice sang a song…God, how could she not have known? Of course, she couldn't have known. The old man…no, that walking corpse was bald, and Kariya's condition had left his hair white. And it wasn't like her mother had talked about her past. As far as she had known, her mother was an ordinary woman with unusual colouring and a weak body.

* * *

Tools of the Trade; Assassin's trademark Noble Phantasm, so long as it could fit in a large suitcase that she could materialize and dematerialize at will, or it could be hidden in her hands, pockets, or among her other apparel, it could provide almost everything she needed to get the job done so long as she had actually used them in life. And right now that was breaking into and destroying an ancient and undoubtedly powerful magus' stronghold, with the added goal of rescuing a hostage.

If she were a Caster or one of the Knights, this task would be laughably easy. But she was an Assassin, and she was going against every ounce of reason by launching a frontal attack. But it was also the only option. She wasn't potent enough magically to dismantle the Matou Estate's magical defences, so her only option was to brute force them. She needed to be both bold and subtle at the same time, to build up momentum and inflict maximum shock damage before the enemy could recover from the initial onslaught.

She looked up at the lightening sky and cursed. It wouldn't be long before sunrise, at which point she risked the Overseer's wrath with a daytime attack. But she couldn't let Sakura stay another in this annex of hell. Regardless of the risks, she had to proceed now. Opening the suitcase, she immediately began assembling multiple C4 charges and planting them at key points around the exterior of the bounded field. By detonating them in sequence, she intended to set off an unstable resonance in the prana network and ultimately shatter the estate's outer defences. If things went well, they would also kill all the familiars outside of the manor.

Zouken would probably attempt to confront her the moment she entered the building. She also knew that the manor's defences and all the other familiars were tied to him. If she could kill or incapacitate him, then she'd knock out all the familiars and internal defences as well. Having set up the charges, she closed the suitcase and walked back to a safe distance. Kneeling down, she pulled out a custom gun from a boot holster and loaded it with a special round. By the time she had found this relic of her family, it had only six shots left. She had used them all in her lifetime, and now she had six of them again. Originally she had intended to use them against the other Masters…but this was personal.

Holstering it again, she picked up the remote detonator. "Sorry boss…" she said. "…but I can't let this slide."

She pulled the trigger, and a series of explosions obliterated the outer wall and gate of the Matou Estate. But that was just the beginning; the destruction of the bounded fields killed everything on the grounds, wilting the grass and shrivelling the trees as dead familiars fell from them to the ground. Inside the manor, Zouken immediately rushed up out of the basement in shock at this sudden attack while Byakuya rushed to his son's room.

Outside the grounds, Assassin reopened her suitcase and removed a Panzer-Faust before dematerializing it. Aiming through the smoke and dust she fired sending the anti-tank round to detonate against the front doors of the manor and not only destroyed it, but a section of the surrounding wall as well. Dropping the launcher, she ran down the street as a blur of black, bounded over the debris and across the lifeless lawn and into the building.

A swarm of carnivorous insects immediately descended on her, but she was already moving into the first steps of the combat katas her aunt had taught her. In life she had only twenty-one circuits, rather average really, but by applying her wind affinity to the 'breathing and walking' movements she could cast potent elemental attacks just by moving and without the need to speak an aria. She completed her movements with a speed only another Servant could match, her kicks and rotations sending out razor-sharp blades of wind flying in multiple directions, carpeting the floor of the entrance hall with dead bugs.

Even then, she was already moving into another stance, her movements sharp and graceful as lightning charged at her fingertips. With an imperious and merciless gesture, she fired a blindingly-bright bolt of pure power at the top of the stairs, sending debris flying.

"How very interesting…" a gravelly voice ghosted out of the dust, as Assassin sank to her knees in exhaustion. Lightning manipulation cost a lot of prana to use in combat, and apparently the same held true even as a Servant. Still, she didn't mind giving in to the exhaustion; it gave her an excuse to get a hand to her boot holster. Meanwhile at the top of the stairs a fresh swarm of familiars gathered while even more began to fly into the foyer, forming an unbroken circle around her. "…I never expected an Assassin to exhibit abilities in magecraft, perhaps Kariya isn't as useless as I thought. If hadn't attempted to betray me that is."

Assassin glared up the stairs, watching as Zouken Matou staggered up to his feet. The lightning strike had completely vaporized his forearms and had left the front of his torso a smoking ruin. Damage that even now was being repaired as fresh familiars sank into him and remade his body.

"Don't blame the boss." Assassin spat. "I performed this attack without his knowledge."

"Why is that?" Zouken asked. "Could it be that a hardened killer like you felt pity for that child? You shouldn't; she's just a piece of meat to be used as necessary."

"Wrong…" Assassin snarled, drawing the gun and standing up. Zouken smirked as she aimed at him. Did she really think such a pathetic little weapon could hurt him? When her most powerful elemental attack failed to kill him? "…you see Zouken, that isn't just another girl. That girl also happens to be my mother. And you hurt her. And for that I'll kill you."

Zouken's eyes widened in shock at the revelation even as Assassin fired her gun, or at least that's what it looked like to Zouken – but it wasn't just another gun. It was a modified Thompson Contender, a mystic code meant to fire a potent and deadly conceptual weapon. The recoil alone would shatter a normal Human's arm, forcing a magus to reinforce their arm when firing it. As a Servant Assassin wasn't bound by this limitation, but that was ultimately beside the point. The Origin Bullet fired by the gun slammed into Zouken Matou's chest and instantly imposed the concept of 'severing and binding' on him. Had Zouken been going full throttle, he would have been killed in an instant. As it was, between seventy to eighty percent of his circuits were active, and all of them were reduced to figurative slag in an instant.

"What did you to me?" Zouken roared, or at least tried to as his body fell apart. Most of his familiars died as well, while those that did not immediately began attacking one another. Drawing an MP5 and holstering the Thompson, she immediately charged up the stairs and through the hallways.

"Who the hell are you?" Byakuya barely had time to say before Assassin threw him to the side.

"Take your brat and get the hell out of here!" she shouted over her shoulder. To his credit, Byakuya realized that he was way in over his head and immediately ran off to find Shinji and escape. Meanwhile Assassin finally found Sakura cowering in her room.

"Don't worry Kariya sent me to save you." Assassin said, lowering her gun and trying to reassure the terrified girl. "Grab your clothes and whatever it is that you don't want to leave behind and let's go."

"Uncle Kariya…?" the girl echoed, and Assassin nodded.

"Yes, Kariya's with me. Now hurry!" she said gently but firmly and the girl finally began to move. It was weird barking orders to a child version of her mother, but there was no time to consider that. Within a minute, the girl's meagre belongings had been put in a backpack, and Assassin tucked the girl under an arm before making to leave.

"Hold it right there!" Zouken slurred, dragging his half-rotten body up the hallway towards them as they left Sakura's room. Assassin held up a hand, palm outward, and fired a high pressure blast of wind that reduced Zouken into slime and pulp while blowing all the furniture in the hall into splinters. Having bought some time, Assassin ran back to the entrance hall and barely missing Shinji and Byakuya fleeing through the ruined door.

"Hang on, we're almost out." She whispered soothingly as she once again called upon Tools of the Trade. Opening the suitcase, she pulled out a complex and dangerous weapon. Dismissing the Noble Phantasm, she began to arm the bomb while contacting Kariya via their mental link. "_Boss, wake up! Boss, I need you!_"

"_Assassin…?_" Kariya's thoughts echoed back, and from the sound of it, he just woke up. "_What's wrong? Where are you?_"

"_I'm at the Matou Estate. Sakura is safe and with me, but we need to get out ASAP. Use a Command Spell and tell me to bring Sakura there now!_"

* * *

Back at the hotel, Kariya held up an arm and swallowed. Whatever Assassin was planning he had a bad feeling about it, but he trusted her regarding Sakura. With a thought one of his Command Spells glowed before vanishing. "Assassin…" he ordered. "…bring Sakura here now!"

* * *

As she felt the Command Spell take effect, Assassin smiled before pressing the confirm button and starting the ten second countdown. "Hang on tight." She whispered again, and then space itself folded as Assassin and her ward rushed to her Master's side.

As Assassin left, one of Zouken's worms made it to the device left behind by the Servant, it and by extension Zouken barely had time to register the nuclear trefoil on the suitcase nuclear bomb before the countdown was completed and a six-kiloton nuclear explosion reduced the manor and the surrounding neighbourhood to a smoking crater.

* * *

A/N

Wow, the ideas just keep pouring out I'm amazed at myself.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed, and this work is merely a creative and absolutely non-commercial exercise on my part.

The Harbinger

Chapter 2

Nuclear weapons…someone had popped off one of those in the middle of Fuyuki's suburbs. In his astral form, Archer sighed as he surveyed the ruins. Men in radiation suits were combing the ruins gathering samples of radioactive fallout, apparently in an attempt to use it to trace the plutonium in the bomb to its source. And apparently they were failing horribly at the job. Which meant the bomb was of a particular kind that would not be developed for quite a few more decades.

Even worse was the sensation he was getting from the ruins. It was faint, but it was there; the residual traces of a Servant taking advantage of space-time manipulation to leave the area quickly. The fact that this kind of bomb would have been developed at the right time, plus the fact that a certain Heroic Spirit had quite the reputation for using the damned things to cover her tracks from the Association, the Ancestors, and the Church alike all pointed to a single individual as the perpetrator.

Now normally Counter-Guardians don't really remember much of what they do as Counter-Guardians, and they usually stayed away from and as such didn't know much about the Heroic Spirits on the Throne of Heroes, but this particular hero was well-known among their kind. Not only was she among the few Heroic Spirits to come into being long after the Age of Gods had come to an end, she was also the one who set in motion a series of events that would see Alaya dismiss both the Heroic Spirits and the Counter-Guardians as unnecessary, and giving both their long awaited and well deserved final rest. As to why…suffice to say that one of the end results of her actions would see the Human race surpass even the Ultimate Ones and would see Alaya's rising shadow looming over the cosmos.

Nope, Archer was definitely not pleased that she of all people had become a Servant. Gilgamesh could even be considered preferable; this woman was even more ruthless than him, and more akin to her paternal grandfather than he ever was, and willing and capable of using weapons that neither he nor his father would or could use. And there was their blood relationship too…well technically he wasn't her father per se, but still…why couldn't things just go smoothly for once?

In any case he needed to report to Tokiomi and Kirei as soon as possible. And there was that headache too. Kirei by this point had yet to become the vicious and manipulative priest that he had known, and despite himself Archer found himself trying to help the man find the answers regarding the emptiness in him all the while hoping against hope that this would prevent him from becoming the monster he would eventually become. Ugh, Rin would probably be laughing at him right now if she could see him, and snidely tell him to get over his heroic tendencies. And she'd be right…as usual.

* * *

"A nuclear bomb…" Kiritsugu Emiya echoed as he watched the news before chuckling dryly in amusement. "…well what can I say? Assassin certainly is one interesting Servant and I really wish I was her Master. Such ruthlessness…I wonder what she was after?"

Beside him Maiya Hisau shrugged as she watched the news about nuclear terrorism in the city. The thing was, Kiritsugu had familiars watching the strongholds of both the Matou and the Tohsaka ever since they arrived, and while the familiars around the Matou Estate had not survived the nuclear explosion, they had sent back valuable information about the attack. They had seen Assassin planting the bombs, launch her assault, and two people – a man and a young boy – flee shortly before everything went up in nuclear fire. Assassin hadn't been seen leaving, but neither she nor Kiritsugu believed the Servant of Assassination had perished. If anything, the latter suspected the nuclear explosion was merely a means to cover the Servant's withdrawal. "Can we assume that the Matou Master is dead then?" she finally asked.

"It's possible…" Kiritsugu conceded but his face betrayed his reservations about the idea. "…but Iri hasn't said anything about feeling a Servant's power flowing into her. The Master may be dead, but there's a possibility the Servant might still be around and kicking."

"So what do we do?"

"We proceed as planned. Iri and Sabre will attempt to draw out the other Masters and Servants at the docks tonight, while we wait in the shadows. Depending on the situation, we can either gather information about our enemies or eliminate as many Masters as possible."

"Will Assassin make an appearance?"

"That's another possibility. If she does appear, we'll have to be careful. I don't know how she got her hands on a mini-nuke, but if she's willing to do that in such an area, I wouldn't want to face her on the battlefield."

"…an alliance?" Maiya ventured after a short while and Kiritsugu briefly considered the thought.

"That would be useful...if it can be done of course."

Normally people would be wary of entering into an alliance with someone who popped nukes without a second thought, but Kiritsugu certainly wasn't normal. He was someone who was perfectly willing to do whatever was necessary to achieve his end. In that light, he wasn't all that different from Assassin. Depending on how far Assassin and her Master were willing to cooperate, an alliance (if it was possible that is) would all but guarantee victory especially considering that Assassin's use of nuclear weapons (and plastic explosives and anti-tank rockets) meant that she and her Master had absolutely no problem making use of items that orthodox magi would normally consider 'heretical'. In other words: the two of them could potentially be the best allies for the Magus Killer.

* * *

"Tokiomi is livid." Kirei reported to his father.

"I can imagine." Risei said unhappily. "You summoning a Berserker has rendered the first part of the plan meaningless, and then this…catastrophe. A Servant, are you sure?"

"Yes, that is what Archer reported." Kirei confirmed with a nod. "He said he sensed what might have been the residual traces of a space-time manipulating spell in the blast zone."

"That would be very unusual though…" Risei said thoughtfully. "…a Servant could not possibly have access to nuclear weapons, but their Masters…no, that is even more unlikely. Magi would never stoop to use the weapons of the modern era, regardless of their power. Even more so given how…flashy this weapon is."

"What of Kiritsugu Emiya?" Kirei pressed. "He's certainly ruthless enough."

"That he is…" Risei agreed, giving a nod to his son. "But while it would certainly be in-character for him, our own files on him indicate that he could not possible have access to nuclear weapons."

So, what do we do?"

The two priests were silent for several long moments. Finally Risei broke the silence they had fallen into. "I will issue a warning to our thus far unknown Master and Servant. Taking action against them now would be premature, and might draw attention from the other Masters. Attention which we cannot afford to have at the moment while we attempt to salvage our plans. Emiya in particular would be quick to take advantage of opportunity he would find. As such, we will allow the regular press to spin this as a nuclear terrorism by left wing extremists against the rich Matou family that were living in the area." The fact that such a move would be considered as too extreme in such a situation made no impact on the elderly priest. If it could get the job done, then so be it.

"Tokiomi will not be pleased by such a move."

"Then let him get angry." Risei said dismissively. "We are not his servants. He is our ally only because it is convenient for us to have him as the one to be guided to a proper wish for the Holy Grail. He will need to be discreetly reminded of this fact, and the fact that the Holy Church will ultimately keep its own counsel regarding this entire matter."

"Very well…" Kirei said while giving a small bow. "…I shall inform him of our next move."

"By the way…" Risei began to ask as his son moved to leave. "…how is Tokiomi taking the news of the Matou clan's apparent demise?"

"Outwardly he doesn't seem affected, although he was rather offended at the brutish means by which it was done." Kirei replied. "However, he apparently suspects that Zouken Matou may yet be alive, and while he doesn't show it he apparently harbours feelings of concern for his younger daughter."

Risei snorted disdainfully at that. Tokiomi was a magus to the bone, and despite being a father he apparently didn't understand the extent of what he had done could possibly do to his daughter's mind. And that was without taking the rumours regarding the Matou mysteries into account. In spite of himself Risei found himself quite displeased at Tokiomi's callousness. It was to be expected from a magus yes, but still…as a father himself and having a granddaughter too, such an act of inhumanity was utterly anathema.

"Then I hope God forgives me for not having much faith in our ally's paternal instincts." He retorted before waving Kirei a dismissal.

* * *

"…a nuclear bomb?" Kariya said aghast. He had just finished tucking Sakura in after Assassin had given her a bath and a change in clothes – the last one bought real quickly – and now re-joined his Servant in their suite's main room. "Are you crazy? Do you know how many people…?"

"Yes I do." Assassin said, closing her eyes briefly. "I know a lot of people ended up dying because of what I did. But…that is what I do. I walk the Path of Destruction; one life is taken to save ten, a thousand to save a million…saving Sakura and eliminating Zouken would simply take us closer to winning the Holy Grail. I can trust you to make the right decision when the time comes, and as such, for me every life I take is justified to ensure that you are the one to hold the Grail in the end."

"But…!"

"Don't worry about leftover radiation or fallout like that." Assassin told him reassuringly. "That was a miniature, laser-detonated fusion device that won't be developed for a few more decades. There won't be any fallout from the blast, I assure you."

Kariya raised an eyebrow at that; apparently he did not know that Servants could be summoned from the future as well. "Well, there's no rule that says Servants always have to be summoned from the past." Assassin remarked, divining her Master's thoughts.

"Just promise you won't deal such wanton destruction in the future." He sighed.

"Oh alright, I won't use such tactics again, or at least until that's the only option left to me." Assassin finally said, and Kariya sighed again.

"I suppose I'll just have to be satisfied with that."

"Cheer up boss." Assassin told him, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. "Look on the bright side: Zouken is dead and the girl is safe. That has to count for something, right? Oh, hang on for a second…"

Kariya blinked as Assassin pulled out a bracelet of some kind and began to mutter some words under her breath; finally, she gently but firmly grabbed hold of his arm before placing the piece of jewellery around a wrist. "There, that should keep you safe."

"What?"

"I can't remove the familiars in your body, and that could prove a liability against any Masters with talents in the flowing and transference of power." Assassin said while taking a pull from her cigarette. "The Tohsaka specialize in that branch of Thaumaturgy, and I'd rather not risk you getting offed by their bloody bastard of a clan head when he disrupts your familiars. That bracelet should cut off your familiars from any external influences apart from your own."

"I see…" Kariya said, holding up his arm and examining the mystic code. It was a simple silver chain with a piece of quartz as the centrepiece of the design. "I see…thanks for your concern, Assassin."

"Don't mention it."

* * *

That night a chariot thundered across the sky drawn by a pair of bulls, borne on webs of lightning so powerful that the people on the ground felt the chariot and its mighty master's approach even before it became visible. The fighting between the Knights of the Sword and the Lance came to a halt as both heroes stood back and cautiously awaited the arrival of another Servant, and a powerful one at that considering the power behind his Noble Phantasm. For what else could it possibly be?

"Lower your weapons, and hark my fellows!" the mighty Servant thundered as his chariot slammed into the ground between Lancer and Sabre. "I am the Alexander the Great, the King of Conquerors and the Servant Rider of this grand competition."

Lancer and Sabre's mouths fell open in surprise at this declaration. Never mind the fact that they faced Alexander the Great, but did he just reveal his identity out in the open? Was this really the mightiest conqueror the world has even known?

Elsewhere Kiritsugu Emiya was very uneasy as he took in the scene. Alexander had a reputation for being a master strategist, and would never have revealed his identity if it had no advantage to him. Or, it might also be the fact that he had nothing to win or lose even if he did so. Either way, Kiritsugu had to be careful when it came to dealing with this Servant.

"Rider…" Waver protested as he shakily stood up in the chariot beside his Servant. "…what are you…?"

He was cut off suddenly when Alexander flicked his forehead and sending him tumbling back to the chariot's floor. "I come before you with a proposition and that is to ask you to surrender the Holy Grail to me. If you choose to do so, then I will accept you as my sworn allies, and together we can share in its blessings together as allies should rightly do!"

"What?" Lancer said in disbelief. "With all due respect King of Conquerors, but despite your rather generous terms, I cannot accept your offer. Furthermore, forgive me if I seem rude, but it seems to me that you ask the impossible. For none sworn to another may surrender what is due by fealty to another save to their own lord and to no other. As such forgive me if I say that you delude yourself into thinking that any Servant would accept your offer."

"I agree." Sabre echoed, settling back into her stance. "As the rightful King of Britain, I cannot allow myself to be reduced to becoming the retainer of another. It simply cannot be done. Please accept my apologies King of Conquerors, but I must decline your offer."

"…the rightful King of Britain?" Alexander echoed. "Well now, this is a surprise. I never expected the King of Knights to be such a young girl."

Saber smirked, and she settled further into her stance. "In that case, perhaps you would care to personally witness what this young girl is capable of, King of Conquerors?"

"I'm willing to negotiate…" Alexander said regretfully, but was immediately shot down by the other Servants present.

"I refuse!" the two of them said at the same time, and Rider sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"I hate it when negotiations break down." He lamented as Waver pulled himself back to his feet, only to notice the two of them being targeted by Lancer and Sabre alike.

"W-what have you…?" he began to say when another woman's voice interrupted

"Okay that's enough for now…" Assassin said in a sing-song fashion as she appeared behind Irisviel…and with a gun aimed right at the back of her head. "…and while I never expected the Alexander the Great of all people to pull a stunt like that…that was a grand entrance, King of Conquerors."

"Oh you really think so?" Alexander asked, intrigued by this modern-looking Servant.

"…naturally." Assassin said with a smirk.

"Irisviel…!" Saber shouted in alarm, but a hand raised in warning by Assassin stopped her in her tracks. "…get away from her you coward!"

"I'm an Assassin, remember?" Assassin retorted while rolling her eyes at the blonde's apparent naivety. "In any case, I suggest everyone calm down and relax. This is supposed to be a negotiation, isn't it?"

After a moment, both Lancer and Sabre relaxed and with a warmer smile Assassin pulled away the gun and stood back, raising both hands. "See, now can we talk like reasonable people?"

"Waver Velvet…" another voice echoed across the battlefield startling everyone present, and terrifying the young magus being addressed. "…I never expected you of all people to have been the one to steal my catalyst and to enter the Holy Grail War. In that case shall I proceed to educate you then? Shall I show you the true nature of a battle between magi?"

Assassin lost her smile and her eyes narrowed in displeasure even as Waver sank cowering to his knees…only to be reassured by a pat on the head by his Servant, appearing as a lion hovering protectively over a cub. "So, you claim to be the one who originally sought to summon me?" Alexander shouted into the night. "Don't make me laugh! A coward like you who lurks in the shadows could never be my Master! Only one who has the courage to stand by my side on the battlefield is worthy to be called my friend and trusted companion!"

"How dare a lowly…?" the disembodied voice snapped back only to be interrupted by Assassin of all people.

"Oh shut up Lord El-Melloi." She snapped, glaring at the shadows around her and eliciting a gasp of surprise from the unseen magus. "I killed your successor just like my…predecessor killed you, so watch your tongue, or I'll kill you myself."

"Well this is certainly a surprise." Alexander noted, his jovial and friendly demeanour returning. "So you're a rare Heroic Spirit from the modern era? If so then it is truly an honour to make your acquaintance."

"No problem old man." The woman replied flippantly and the King laughed uproariously while everyone looked on askance. "Anyway I too have a question for you."

"And that is?"

"I once set into motion a series of events that would lead to the unification of the world, and for that my hands will run red with blood for all eternity. Yet you once united the world under your banner. My question is: can you do it again, and this time without killing as many people as I did?"

Alexander just looked at her without a hint of condemnation. "Join me and find out for yourself."

"I'll think about it." Assassin said with a sad smile, closing her eyes contemplatively…then they snapped open as she looked to the side in sudden alarm. "Get down!" she shouted, grabbing a surprised Irisviel and throwing them both out of the way as a projectile flashed down and slammed a crater into the ground where she had been standing just a moment before.

"…breaking the ancient and sacred laws of truce and peaceful dialogue, you have nerve, Archer!" she roared as she summoned her Noble Phantasm and glared at the night sky. In another location, Kirei Kotomine opened his eyes and whispered a command "Go, Berserker!"

All eyes on the battlefield turned to a dark corner as a shrouded figure appeared and roared an insane battle-cry. "Oh hell no..." Assassin said, smiling in disbelief. "…why did it have to be Berserker of all people?"

And in another dark and filthy corner of the city, rotting and dying worms and insects merged to form a slimy and rotting parody of a Human form.

* * *

A/N

Did you really think Zouken would die that easily?


End file.
